It Only Takes A Week To Fall In Love
by PuckleberryFinn123
Summary: Not a Finn/Rachel fanfic but a Lea/Cory one. He wanted her. She said no. So he put together a week long plan to make her his.
1. No

**A/N: First chapter, just an introduction so that's why it's short. Next chapter will be longer. Hope you like it. Read and review either way please. **

**Disclaimer: All made up.**

He wanted her. She said no. So he put together a week long plan to make her his.

"No."

No? He was so used to hearing the word yes that this came as a shock to him. He was a stud, one of Hollywood's hottest bachelors, and a huge star on the rise. He could easily get anything he wanted. That's why when she said no, he was determined to make her his.

"_I think we should go out." Cory approached Lea as she gathered her belongings to go home after a long day on set. _

"_I don't think so." She laughed and looked up at him. Did she just LAUGH at him? _

"_Why not?" He raised his eyebrows in a flirty way, which just made Lea more determined to say no. _

"_Because I don't want to," she stated plainly. _

"_Just once?" Geez, he sounded like he was begging and that was so not the plan. _

"_No," she said one last time before getting into her car and driving away. _

_Oh, he was definitely going to make her say yes one way or another._

"A week, that's it. If you still don't want to be with me after that, then I'll give up, I promise." Lea rolled her eyes as Cory tried to convince her yet again to go out with him.

"Cory, just give it up. I'm not interested," she stated plainly.

"Then you should have nothing to worry about." He smirked and raised his eyebrows teasingly at her. After a moment of consideration, Lea agreed.

"Fine, but once this week is over, we can go back to strictly being coworkers and friends agreed?" Lea stuck her hand out like she'd just finished making a business deal. Cory leaned in; ready to shake her hand, but instead whispered in her ear.

"That's if you don't find me irresistible by then." He said confidently before he strode away. Something about the way he said that gave Lea a funny feeling inside. It certainly wasn't love; though he was a really great guy, it was more of an attraction. And that was something she never had towards Cory before.


	2. Jealousy Is An Ugly Thing

**Day 1. **

"So…is he your boyfriend now?"

"I'm sorry I had to tell you this way, but yes. We are an item now."

"I thought you wanted to be with me."

"It's true that that was what I wanted at one point in my life, but not anymore. I am happy now and I hope you can respect that." Before she knew it, he had bent down to kiss her. It had caught her by complete surprise. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. "I'm not just some guy you met at a music store. I don't give up that easy." He walked away leaving her standing there speechless.

"Cut!" Ryan yelled signaling the end of the scene. "Cory, that kiss, it was perfect! I'm kinda sad I didn't think about it myself. Good job buddy." Ryan gave him a pat on the back before walking off set. Lea walked over to Cory with her hands on her hips.

"What was all that about? That kiss was not in the script!" She huffed.

"Hey don't get mad at me because you liked it." He winked and started walking away.

"Oh don't you walk away from me! You think you can kiss me and make me fall in love with you? Well it's not going to work!" She stomped away before he had a chance to say anything else. Why was she so mad anyway? It's not like he did anything wrong. But the way he was so smug and acted like he knew she wanted him made her remember exactly why she was mad. She couldn't allow herself to fall for him. This was just some game for him. Once she gave in, he'd find someone else to chase after. She wasn't going to be hurt by him.

On her lunch break, Lea decided to go for a walk. As she was walking around town, she ran into one of her old friends.

"Theo what are you doing here?" She said as she gave him a friendly hug.

"I was in town for a few days taking a break from American Idiot and I thought I'd come see you." His eyes scanned over her body quickly.

"Well that's very considerate of you. I'm glad you could make it." She gave him another hug that lasted for a few minutes longer. Once they pulled back, Theo kept his arms around Lea's waist.

"Wow you look really good. Even more beautiful than I remember." Lea blushed and bit her bottom lip.

"Thanks," she said bashfully.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go grab some dinner together later just the two of us." Theo asked.

"Sure, I'd like that." She gave him one final hug before walking back on set.

"So who was that?" Cory walked up behind her, making her jump.

"God, Cory don't do that! You scared me." She turned around to face him. "That was Theo; an old friend of mine. We're going out to dinner tonight." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"The week isn't even over yet. You haven't even given it a chance." Lea could have sworn it sounded like he was actually hurt by it, but she stood her ground.

"Hey you said nothing about us seeing other people. I agreed to give you a week to make me "find you irresistible" in your own words and while I doubt that will happen, I'm still giving you a chance to try.

"Alright," Cory shrugged it off, "if that's how you want to play it." Lea didn't have a chance to ask him what he meant before he marched off.

Later that night, Theo picked Lea up and they went to Truly Vegan Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard.

"Table for two please?" The maitre d led Lea and Theo to a table near the back. As they were getting seated, Lea heard a familiar voice and turned around to see who it was.

"Hey guys what's up?" Lea rolled her eyes at the sight of Cory.

"You've got to be kidding me," Lea sighed. "Cory, may I have a /word/ with you please." She said through her teeth.

"Nah actually I think I wanna sit down and enjoy some dinner." Just as he was about to sit down, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a corner.

"What are you doing here?" She said in an angry whisper.

"I have a date," he smirked.

"What? Who could you have possibly snagged at the last second like that?" Lea asked; figuring he was lying. Just then a tall girl with blonde curly hair walked in and looked around the restaurant.

"Oh look, there she is now." He wriggled free from Lea's grip and walked over to the blonde, planting a kiss on her cheek. For some reason that ignited a fire in Lea. She felt… jealous. She felt a little angry. Even though she refused to date him, she liked when he was giving /her/ the attention. She liked when he was chasing after her and not some blonde bimbo. Cory wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to a table right next to Lea and Theo's.

"Hey, everything okay?" Theo asked once Lea arrived back at the table.

"Yeah, fine." She plopped back into her seat. Theo raised his eyebrows at her but she pretended like she didn't see it. As Lea was eating her food, she could hear giggles coming from the next table over. She stared angrily at the back of Cory's head like she was trying to burn a hole through it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Theo lightly touched her arm. She immediately tensed up and pulled it away slowly.

"Yeah, sure," she said keeping her eyes locked on Cory. "Wow, desperate," she coughed as she heard Cory's date giggle yet again at something that probably wasn't even funny. Both Cory and the blonde turned around and Lea got a good look at who she was. Taylor Swift. Country star Taylor Swift. What was he doing with her? They were complete polar opposites. Not a good match at all. Cory apologized to Taylor.

"It's okay; I mean it's understandable that she's jealous. Who wouldn't be?" She said loud enough for Lea to hear.

"Wow… you're even more desperate than I thought," Lea laughed bitterly.

"Okay, that's enough." They all turned to look at Theo, who had just spoken. "I've been sitting here for the last hour trying to convince myself that there's nothing going on between you two but clearly I was wrong. Have fun Lea." He threw his napkin on the table and walked out, leaving Lea feeling embarrassed, and a little hurt. Theo was a great guy and she would feel safe with him. She wouldn't have to worry about him playing games or cheating on her. So why did she get so jealous when she saw Cory with Taylor? She buried her face in her hands, trying to make sense of the whole mess.

"Cory, can we get out of here now?" Taylor stood up; getting ready to leave. Cory looked over at Lea, feeling pretty bad himself.

"Actually, you can go. I'm gonna stay here for a while longer." He stood up and walked over to the table where Lea was sitting.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"Cory," Taylor cleared her throat. He just waved her off. "Well so much for this date." She slammed the bill down on the table in front of him and marched out of the restaurant.

"Do you think I'm okay?" She looked up at him with a few tears in her eyes.

"No, but I wanted to apologize. Coming here tonight was probably not the best idea. I'm sorry I screwed up your date." Lea looked him in the eye and he actually seemed sincere. Why was he trying this hard? Does he like the chase that much?

"Thanks, it wasn't your fault though. Something came over me in a moment of weakness and I let my jealousy get the best of me. Never again will that happen though." Why did she do this? Everytime they had a sweet moment, she always tried to ruin it.

"Well why were you jealous?" She shrugged innocently.

"I just felt like… you having a girlfriend would mean less time for us to hang out. You're still my good friend after all."

"You won't have to worry about that." He brought his thumb up to her cheek and wiped a few of her tears away. "I wasn't really attracted to her." They sat there staring at each other, not saying a word. But it was a comfortable silence. They even exchanged a few smiles. "How about I take you home now?" Lea nodded and headed for Cory's car.

"Thanks for driving me home, I appreciate it." He only nodded. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded again. Unsure of what to say next, she quickly planted a kiss on his cheek, mumbled the words thank you once again and closed the door. He smirked and walked back to his car. He knew this plan was working.

As soon as she got in the house, she picked up the phone and called Jon.

"Hey do you mind coming over?"

"Be there in five." She hung up and a few minutes later heard a knock on her door.

"Hey," she smiled sadly. He pulled her into a hug and closed the door; leading her to her bedroom.

"What's wrong?" He sat down next to her.

"I don't even know. I gave Cory a week to get me to fall for him, I went on a date with Theo though I'm not sure why since I didn't feel any connection, and Cory was there with a date and everything just went horribly wrong and I think I might actually have feelings for Cory, like genuine feelings, but I shouldn't because he's kind of a player and he's my costar and it will just make everything awkward and I have no idea what to do!" She said without taking a breath.

"Woah, okay calm down Lea. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be fine. So you didn't feel anything for Theo. It's not a crime. I know you have that "no dating costars" rule, but what if Cory's the guy for you? Do you want to ruin a chance at possible love just because you work with him? I think you need to think about all of this tomorrow and get some rest right now." He helped her get changed and tucked her in.

"Jon," she grabbed his arm, "do you mind staying with me tonight?" He crawled into the other side of the bed and wrapped an arm around her.

"Get some rest Lea." He kissed her forehead before going to sleep.


	3. The Photoshoot

**Day 2 **

The next day at work, both Lea and Cory acted like nothing ever happened. They went back to their old routine of being strictly professional when the camera was rolling, then not so secretly flirting when the cameras were off. They thought they were being subtle, but everyone else on set knew how much they wanted each other; they just couldn't admit it to themselves. As Lea was rehearsing a few scenes in her dressing room, she felt a pair of hands on her waist. Before she turned around, the person whispered in her ear.

"Miss me?" She turned around to find Cory giving her another one of his signature smirks.

"You miss people when they're gone. You never leave me alone," she stated as she walked over to the couch.

"When are you going to admit that you have feelings for me?" He sighed and walked over to sit next to her.

"I have no clue what you are talking about Cory." She played coy and continued looking at her script although she wasn't able to focus. The way he smelled; it was intoxicating. She couldn't describe it. It was hard for her to focus her attention on anything else.

"Lea, you didn't get jealous over nothing last night." She rolled her eyes.

"I thought we weren't going to bring that up."

"Well frankly I feel we need to discuss it. You know you have feelings for me whether you want to admit it or not." She looked up at him and quickly realized that was a mistake. His eyes were enough to make anybody melt. He had just enough scruff on his face that it drove Lea crazy. But the way he was looking at her sent her over the edge. She couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Uh what were we talking about again?" She shook her head as if all the thoughts she was having about him right now were just going to go away.

"Last night." He arched his eyebrow in confusion at her.

"Right." Her eyes stayed locked on him. As soon as he made eye contact with her, her heart jumped. It sent tingles down her spine. He leaned in closer, but she didn't move away. She knew what he would do next but this time she wouldn't push him away. She wanted it to happen. Before she knew it his lips were moving as one with hers. It sent shockwaves through her body. All she wanted to do was continue to kiss him. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He put a hand on the small of her back; deepening the kiss. She liked what was happening. She didn't want it to stop. He felt the exact same way. He figured when he kissed her, she'd just reject him again making up another lame excuse. But she was actually kissing him back. It shocked him more than anything and only further proved his theory that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She laid back on the couch, pulling him on top of her. It seemed like this was going to go a lot further than either of them thought but they didn't mind. Just then they heard a knock on the door quickly followed by a voice.

"Lea, I need…" Mark walked in just as Lea pushed Cory away. His eyes widened at the sight. "I'll just leave you guys alone." He smirked, about to head out the door.

"No, its fine, I was just leaving." Cory quickly stood up and walked out of the door.

"Wanna tell me what that was about?" He walked over to her.

"I don't want to talk about it," she blushed deeply; clearly embarrassed."

"I knew it was only a matter of time before one of us walked in on you two." He shrugged playfully. "I always thought it'd be in the trailers, but dressing room's work too."

"Mark, that is not funny!" She hid her face. "This is so embarrassing. I can't believe this just happened." Mark squeezed Lea's shoulder gently, pulling her into a hug.

"Can I tell you something without you getting all offended?"

"Depends on what it is." He paused for a minute before she talked again. "Fine, go ahead."

"Why don't you just admit that you have feelings for him already so we can all move on with it? It's kind of sickening how much you guys flirt." She pushed him away.

"We do not flirt! Well he flirts with me, but I do not flirt back." Mark laughed at that.

"Are you kidding me? You two think you're being all subtle and cute, but it's annoying how you two just don't get together already." She looked up at him.

"And everybody thinks this?"

"We all /know/ so."

"It would be a lot easier to admit if I knew he wasn't going to break my heart." Lea sighed.

"What makes you think that? Lea, nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. But do you honestly think Cory's that kind of guy? Sure he flirts with a lot of girls, but it's harmless. I can tell when Cory really likes a girl and trust me, I know he likes you. A lot. You should give him a chance." Mark squeezed her shoulders lightly, standing up to leave the room. "Just think about it Lea." He left her to her thoughts. She sighed deeply and lay back on the couch.

Later that afternoon, Lea was on her way to a photo shoot when she was stopped by Cory.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"I have to be at a photo shoot in 20 minutes. So if you're done with the interrogation, I need to go." She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"How are you gonna get there?" He smirked.

"I'll drive, like I normally do." Her brows knitted together in confusion.

"How can you drive when your car has a flat tire?" It took Lea a few minutes to process his words before running outside and kneeling down next to her car.

"Cory! Tell me you didn't!" He shook his head.

"No, I cannot say that I had anything to do with this. It's kind of funny how things work out though, huh?" He grinned. She instantly rolled her eyes. "Do you need a ride?" He asked.

"I'll just have Dianna take me." She turned around to walk back into the studio, when he stopped her again.

"Everyone else is filming right now. But I'm free." He leaned against her car, crossing his arms." She rolled her eyes, walking over to his car.

"I still can't believe you had nothing to do with this," she eyed him.

"Hey, what can I say? Sometimes things just work out too perfectly." He smirked and opened the car door for her before getting into the other side and pulling off.

"You can just stay out here." She said as she walked toward the building where the photo shoot was being held.

"Nah, I'd rather come in. There's nothing to do out here." He followed her inside. She made a beeline for the dressing room and changed, walking back into the room only a few short minutes later wearing only a black lace bra and some short black shorts. He looked her up and down and swallowed hard, blinking furiously. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He always knew she had a great body, but seeing her like that drove him absolutely crazy. He kind of felt like Finn when he had to "think of the mailman." As she did all her different poses for the camera, that feeling only intensified. He quickly stood up and walked out to the car, taking some deep breaths. Lea watched him leave out of the corner of her eye; smirking widely.

"I thought you wanted to come inside. Why did you leave?" She tilted her head and batted her eyelashes innocently.

"It got pretty boring in there. Figured I'd come out here and listen to some music." He shrugged it off.

"Mhm." She laughed to herself, getting into the car. As he started up the engine, he felt a hand on his thigh. "Just wanted to say, thanks for driving me." She grinned, leaning close to him. Her face was just inches from his. He licked his lips and just when his lips were about to touch hers, she pulled back, removing her hand from his thigh. "Well you better start driving. We've got to get back to set." His eyes widened. Was she just, teasing him? He quickly shook his head before driving back to the Paramount parking lot.


	4. Happily Ever After?

"When are you just going to admit that you're madly in love with him?" Dianna questioned Lea about Cory as they went to lunch that next afternoon.

"For the last time, I'm not in love with him. Why does everyone keep on insisting that I am?" Lea sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You two can't keep your hands off of each other!" Dianna laughed and shook her head. "At least he's honest about it."

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly, this seemed to catch Lea's attention.

"It's obvious he's into you. He's even /told/ everybody he's into you."

"What does he say about me?" Lea asked eagerly.

"For someone that isn't in love with him, you sure are interested in his feelings toward you."

"I don't care." Lea stated plainly. Just then, her phone went off. She flipped it open to receive a text: _I get the best feeling in the world when you say "Hi" or smile at me, because I know that even for a second that I've crossed your mind. _It instantly made her smile, but she had no idea who it was from. She didn't just want to assume it was from Cory. A few minutes later, another text popped up. This time it said: _Every morning I wake up happy because I know I'll see you. _

_It has to be somebody I see everyday right? It couldn't be anybody else but Cory... _

"Lea, Lea!" Lea looked up from her phone, dazed and confused.

"Huh?"

"I have been calling you for like the past 5 minutes."

"Oh, sorry." Lea put her phone away.

"What were you smiling about?" Dianna arched her eyebrow questioningly.

"What, nothing. I just got a sweet text. That's all."

"From Cory?" Dianna smirked knowingly.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "it was an unknown number."

"Let me see the text." Before Lea had time to react, Dianna grabbed the phone from her hand, searching through it. "Yep, that's definitely from Cory."

"How do you know?" Lea looked surprised.

"Because he's totally cheesy like that." Dianna handed the phone back to Lea. Lea bit her lip, failing to hide the grin slowly forming on her face.

After lunch, Lea walked back to set looking for Cory. She was going to confront him about the texts and finally tell him what she was feeling. She couldn't take the back and forth anymore. She just wanted them to be honest with each other finally.

"Hi," she walked over to him, smiling brightly.

"Well hey there." He returned the smile.

"So… I really liked the texts," she started out.

"What texts?" Cory furrowed his eyebrows.

"The texts that you sent me yesterday; they were sweet." She rested a hand on his shoulder lovingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't send you any texts." She searched his face for any signs that he might be trying to play coy, but it looked like he genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.

"I… sorry, forget I said anything. I've gotta go." Before Cory had the chance to say anything else, she dashed out to her trailer as quickly as possible. What neither of them knew was that Dianna was watching their encounter from across the room.

"What the hell happened?" She approached Cory once she saw Lea leave. "That was your chance!"

"If she can play hard to get so can I. Let her think the texts were from someone else," he stated casually.

"Cory, I love you, but you're an idiot." Cory whipped around to face Dianna. "She was /happy/ that the texts were from you. She said she didn't want to play games anymore." Dianna rolled her eyes.

"How was I supposed to know? You should've told me what she thought about the texts!" He put his head in his hands. "What am I going to do now?"

"You've got to show her that you meant what you said; that you want to be with her." Cory nodded and quickly left the room to look for Lea.

_Meet me in my trailer after work – Cory. _Lea rolled her eyes at the text. _What does he want now? _She already felt so embarrassed for confronting him about the texts he didn't even send. She couldn't face him again. But… she really wanted to see him. Not being with him was killing her more than she thought it ever would. So she decided to go anyway. So around 10:00, she quickly finished up her last scene and headed over to his trailer.

"Cory," she whispered, knocking lightly on the door. "Cory, it's me, open up." The trailer door swung open as she felt a hand grab her wrist, pulling her in. Before she had time to react, a pair of lips smashed themselves urgently against hers; a kiss she eagerly returned. Cory pressed her up against the wall, her hands tangling themselves in his hair. The kiss was rough yet sweet, passionate yet delicate all at the same time. Cory pulled back so that his lips were just inches from hers as he mumbled against her lips.

"I lied, I sent the texts." Lea furrowed her brows in confusion, gently pushing him back.

"What? Why would you say you didn't send them?" He shrugged, sitting down on the couch.

"I was trying to play hard to get… like you. Guess that didn't work out as well as I expected." She sat down next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder, tilting his chin up at her.

"Well I'm here now aren't I?" They both smiled and leaned in; the kiss instantly becoming as passionate as it was before. He gently pushed her down against the couch as his body hovered over hers. He hesitantly inched her shirt up over her head and tossed it to the floor before reconnecting their lips for another passionate kiss. He looped his arm around the small of her back, pulling her up closer to him. Soon enough bodies were tangled together, skin was touching skin, and they both experienced a feeling that neither one of them had ever experienced before. Once it was all over, they both knew that this is exactly where they wanted to be. Cory looked down at Lea, whose head was resting against his chest. He knew that this is how he wanted it to be everyday. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms. He was totally and completely in love with her; he always had been. As long as he had her, he'd wake up smiling every single morning. And Lea was feeling the exact same way. As she laid there in Cory's arms she thought about how perfect the moment felt. She didn't want to be with anyone else but him for as long as she lived. She even thought she might have been falling in love with him, and that was a feeling that scared her and excited her all at the same time.

"Are you awake?" he whispered, looking down at her. She nodded, tilting her head up to look at him.

"It's kinda hard to sleep when things are so perfect right now." She smiled, tracing circles on his chest with her finger. He instinctively tightened his grip around her, pressing his lips against her temple.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future, but I can promise you that I'm never going to do anything to hurt you. I.." he stopped mid-sentence, causing Lea to furrow her eyebrows.

"You what?"

"It was nothing, really. I just… I know I've screwed things up before, but I'm not planning on losing you again." Lea pressed her palm against Cory's cheek; caressing it softly.

"We've both screwed up, but all that matters now is that we're together and I'm not going to let anything come between us again." She cupped his cheek, leaning forward to press her lips against his softly. He so badly wanted to say those three words that he'd felt from the moment he met her at the audition. He still remembers that moment so well. They were both in consideration for their respective parts. They screen tested together to see if they had enough chemistry. And they sure did. They were supposed to share a friendly kiss and the moment her lips touched his, he was sold. He knew he was in love with the girl ever since. He did pretty well at hiding his feelings too. But lately, he just couldn't take it anymore. Her constant subconscious flirting, her seemingly harmless teasing; it was just too much for him to handle. He knew she didn't feel half as close to the way he felt for her, but he had hoped that her feelings were enough to make her want to be with him.

He smiled to himself against her lips thinking about how lucky he was in this moment and how he was never going to let anything screw up his chances with the beautiful brunette again. No one ever expected this all to change the very next day.


	5. Last Chance At Love

"I love you," he murmured breathlessly against her lips.

"I love you too," she smiled before meeting his lips in an urgent kiss. His hand slowly slid up the back of her shirt. The feel of his rough fingertips against her smooth skin set her body on fire. Shockwaves ran throughout her entire body. She knew she'd never be able to feel that way with anyone else.

"Lea," she heard him whisper in his rough, yet soft voice. "Lea," she heard again.

"Mm, Cory," she smiled, bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck. Just before her lips met his, she heard a voice that wasn't his.

"Lea!" She opened her eyes to find Mark's face just inches from hers. She jumped and released him from her grip, falling off of the couch in her trailer. She quickly got back up, her face turning a deep shade of red. Mark arched his eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh Cory, I love you," Mark mocked her.

"Shut up!" She blushed involuntarily, smacking his arm. He laughed loudly until he was out of breath. "You can stop laughing anytime now Mark." Lea rolled her eyes, sighing deeply.

"You know I'm just messing with you. What's there to be embarrassed about anyway? You guys are finally together now huh?" He nudged her with his shoulder gently. She instantly smiled to herself at that thought.

"Yeah… we are." She tried to bite back the smile that was forming on her face but she just couldn't help herself. Just the mention of his name gave her this incredible feeling.

"Well I'm happy for you, really. Now we won't have to deal with the subtle flirting or the eye sex anymore," Mark smirked and saw her cheeks immediately flush red. "You're so damn easy to mess with." He pulled her into a sideways hug and squeezed her gently.

"So how about you and Dianna, hm?" Lea raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What about us?" He shrugged.

"Oh come on, you guys are about as obvious as Cory and I were. When are you two happening?"

"Ah, she's dating someone else. I don't do serious relationships anyway." He stood up to leave. Just as he reached the door, Lea called after him.

"Hey Mark?" He turned around. "She loves you. I know it." He only nodded and walked outside. As soon as he left, Lea got ready and headed over to Cory's trailer. When she got there she saw him talking to a tall blonde.

_Not her again, _Lea groaned to herself. Something gave her a funny feeling. She trusted Cory, she did, but something just didn't sit right with her. She had this feeling in her gut. So she stayed. Just as she was about to walk away, she saw them both exchange a kiss. It happened so fast, that she didn't have time to think. He had his arms on her waist and she had hers wrapped around his neck. _How could he do this to me? Was everything he said just a lie? _Lea turned around, quickly running away with tears in her eyes. As she made her way back to her own trailer, she bumped into Dianna, causing both of them to fall on the ground. Lea quickly scrambled back up and brushed past Dianna just as Dianna grabbed her arm.

"Lea, what happened?" She furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed Lea's tear stained face.

"Nothing, I just have to go." She tried to wiggle out of Dianna's grip, but Dianna knew she was lying.

"Lea, I'm your best friend, what's going on?" Lea then proceeded to ramble out a bunch of words that wouldn't have made sense to anyone else but Dianna.

"Why would he do that? I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding Lea." Dianna pulled Lea into a tight hug, stroking her hair comfortingly.

"I'm just going to forget about him. It's time I finally move on and we both go our separate ways." Dianna looked down at her.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Lea just shrugged before pulling out of Dianna's arms.

"It's what has to happen. I'm not going to be played by him anymore. We both deserve better." Dianna kissed the top of Lea's head, smiling softly at her.

"Well whatever happens, I know you'll make the right decision. She smiled once more before walking away. Later that day as Lea was packing up her bag, she heard a knock on her dressing room door.

"Come in," she craned her neck to see who it was, rolling her eyes as Cory walked into the room.

"Hey babe," he smiled as he slipped his arms around her waist from behind. She pulled away from him, keeping her attention focused on packing. "Okay, what's wrong?" He walked over to her, gripping her waist to turn her around to face him.

"Get your hands off of me!" She shoved his chest before turning back around towards her bag. "Don't you ever touch me again."

"What the hell?" He said slowly, processing her words. "Lea, what's going on?"

"Like you don't know," she laughed bitterly.

"No I don't, please explain it to me." He blinked repeatedly, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Lea threw the shirt she was attempting to fold on the couch in frustration.

"Cory, it's over! Whatever this is between us is over. It was a big mistake and we should have never even tried it. Just go be with Taylor or whatever other girl that you're hooking up with behind my back."

"Is that what this is about? Taylor? It was over between us the moment we met. She has /nothing/ on you Lea. Do you hear me?" He walked closer to her, attempting to put his hands on her waist again, but she smacked them away.

"That's why you were making out with her earlier, right? Because she doesn't compare to me." She said sarcastically, throwing the rest of her things in her suitcase before zipping it up.

"I didn't make out with her, where is this coming from?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Don't you dare lie to me. I know you kissed her. I /saw/ it with my own eyes." She turned around to face him, glaring at him angrily.

"What you saw was not what actually happened. I can explain." He stepped closer to her.

"I don't want an explanation! You /kissed/ her, as far as I'm concerned we're over." She rolled her eyes, picking up her suitcase.

"What were we anyway? I mean one minute you're sleeping with me and the next you're finding some reason, /any/ reason at all for us not to be together. I'm getting mixed signals here Lea." He sighed in frustration.

"Well you won't have to worry about the mixed signals anymore. Whatever we had here is done. You're free to move on."

"You know what I'm /sick/ of this Lea!" He threw his hands up in the air. "I'm sick and tired of you pushing and pulling me in ten different directions. You want me you love me you hate me, I should move on. Make up your damn mind!"

"My mind's already made up. Date whoever you want." She said quietly, fighting back tears.

"Alright," he ran his tongue over his teeth slowly, "if that's what you want then I'll give you what you want. I'm leaving to Paris today for the summer. If you're not there at the airport when I leave, then I'm moving on for good." He left, slamming the door behind him before she had a chance to speak. She screamed in frustration throwing her shoe against the closed door before sinking onto the floor sobbing into her hands.

"What happened?" Dianna approached Cory as he came out of Lea's dressing room. "It didn't sound too good in there…"

"She broke up with me or whatever. She claims she saw me and Taylor making out but I have no idea why she thinks that. I mean, yeah she kissed me, but I pulled her off before anything could actually happen. But of course she's not going to believe that. Whatever, I'm leaving for the whole summer. That should give me plenty of time to get over her." He grabbed his bags, tossing them into his car.

"You aren't going to fight for her? Cory… I know how much you love her. Do you really want to lose everything you have with her?" Dianna bit her bottom lip.

"I've already lost her and I haven't even done anything. It's over Di, I have to get over her. This is for the best," he said before getting into the car and driving away. As soon as Cory was gone, Dianna stomped into Lea's dressing room, opening up the door without even knocking.

"Lea, what the hell? You're just going to give up on him! After all that you guys have been through together. Are you insane?"

"He /cheated/ on me, or whatever you want to call it. If he really wanted to be with me as much as he says he does he wouldn't have gone off and kissed another girl."

"He didn't kiss her, she kissed him Lea. He would never do that to you!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say," Lea rolled her eyes.

"Lea, I'm your best friend, why would /I/ lie to you about something like this. If I believe what Cory said, then you should too." They stayed silent as Lea processed Dianna's words.

"Fuck, you're right! He told me he'd give me one last chance that I had to meet him at the airport before he left otherwise it's over. What if I'm too late?" Lea was starting to panic. It just sunk in that she could possibly end up losing him, for good, to some European girl and it was all her fault. She had to get to the airport before it was too late.

"You better go now before it is too late. His flight leaves at 2, it's 1:45 now." Lea ran around the room, searching for her keys. "Here, I'll take you, let's go." Dianna grabbed her arm, dragging her out to the car.

The car ride felt like forever. Lea nervously bounced her knee up and down as she waited.

"Lea, it'll be okay. You'll make it. Everything will be fine." Dianna gently squeezed Lea's knee reassuringly. As soon as they arrived, Lea flung the car door open and made her way inside. She looked around but saw no sight of Cory. She ran over to the help desk and questioned them about the flight.

"Excuse me, do you know if the 2:00 flight for Paris left already?" The lady held her finger up at Lea before checking the computer.

"You just missed it actually."

"Oh, okay, thanks…" Lea gave the lady a half-smile before processing what she just said. _It's over… he's really gone. He's going to spend all summer with European tramps and he's going to get over me. _Lea stood there, heartbroken and completely destroyed, not even knowing how to breathe properly. She had just lost her chance at love, her one true love, with the guy that was supposed to be her soul mate. She felt like a part of her had just died.


	6. Welcome Home

_O new messages. _

Every single day Lea checked her phone, and every single day it was the same. No texts, no calls, not even a voicemail was left from Cory. She sent him over a dozen texts, the least he could have done was respond. She even wrote letters to him, but never had the nerve to send them.

_Dear Cory, _

_I'm sorry. I know to you that probably doesn't mean much to you but it does to me. If I could, I'd take back everything I said and did after that one night together because that night was perfect. It was one of the best nights of my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. Just know that I love you and I'm thinking about you all the time. _

_Dear Cory, _

_I wish I hadn't screwed up. I wish I would've just trusted you instead of thinking the worst in you. I am always going to regret that. I just wish you knew that. I wish you'd give me one more chance. One more chance to prove to you that I meant what I said that night. _

_Dear Cory, _

_This is the third letter I've written you and I still haven't worked up the courage to send you my first two letters. You've probably moved on to some pretty European girl by now but I want you to know that there isn't one second that goes by that I don't think about you. I hope you're having fun in Paris. _

_Dear Cory,  
This is my last letter to you. Part of me wonders what you would say if you saw these. I wonder if you'd come flying back here just to be with me. I wonder if you wouldn't care. Part of me hopes that you've found some incredible girl to move on to and you're happy right now. The other part of me hopes you're miserable without me. I hope even for just a minute I've crossed your mind. It's lonely without you here. I love you. _

Lea spent the summer in New York. She figured friends and family and the familiar would be a nice change from LA life. She needed to get away from all the drama and being around people she loved and trusted would help her get over Cory. It helped a tiny bit, especially Theo. He was great. As she spent more and more time with him, it helped heal her broken heart. She knew she would never fully be over Cory, but he helped make her forget about it for a while. Until the day Cory was scheduled to come back. She had butterflies in her stomach and she had no idea why. She was excited and nervous to see him all at the same time. She so badly hoped that he hadn't moved on. She had to be at the airport when he came home. She needed to be the first person he saw. So she put on the best casual outfit she could find and made her way over to the airport hours before his arrival. She practiced what she was going to say. _Hey Cory, I hope you had a good summer. Nah too formal. Cory, I've spent all summer thinking about you. Could you give me another chance? Nah, too clingy. Hey, remember me, I'm Lea, the girl that you were in love with? Nah, he knows who you are. _Her thought process was interrupted when she saw a tall brunette that looked just like Cory hugging some blonde. _Another blonde? What is it with him and blondes? _Just as she was about to walk over to him, she saw him kiss the girl softly, both of them exchanging a smile after. Her heart fell into her stomach. She wasn't sure what to think. Her smile quickly faded and she felt heartbroken. Just then he turned around, noticing Lea. He smiled at her as he made his way over to her. _Suck it up Lea, just smile. He looks like he's happy to see you. Maybe this means something. _

"Hey Lea," he grinned, pulling her into a tight hug. "It's really good to see you." He rested his head on top of hers. That hug, nearly choked her to death. And it wasn't because of how tightly he was holding onto her either. His strong arms were wrapped around her… protectively. He genuinely seemed like he was happy to see her. His smile was etched in her memory. It took he a minute to respond and she wrapped her ams aound his waist tightly, not wanting to let go. This moment felt so good. She didn't want it to ever end.

"I missed you." He smiled sincerely.

"I missed you too." She smiled in return. Just then Lea heard the blonde clear her throat, peering her head over Cory's shoulder.

"Oh Lea, this is my girlfriend, Katie. We met while shooting the movie this summer."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." Katie extended her hand in a friendly gesture. _At least she's better than Taylor. _

"Nice to meet you too," Lea managed to choke out without crying, shaking the blonde's hand quickly.

"Well we're gonna go get all set up back at my apartment. I'll see you later?" Cory said before turning around.

"I have a boyfriend too!" She blurted out before realizing what she said.

"Huh… that's…. that's great Lea. I'm happy for you." He put on his best smile, grabbed Katie's hand and walked out of the airport.

From the moment he left the airport, he hated himself for leaving her. Sure he gave her an ultimatum, but he expected her to show up. He didn't think she'd actually allow him to move on. He hated this. How was he supposed to manage a whole summer without her? He sure as hell wouldn't be able to stop thinking about her. He even wrote her a couple of letters, but it's not like he ever sent them.

_Lea, you seriously have no idea what you do to me. You have this effect on me and it's not just in a sexual way. You have this unhealthy power over me and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm so in love with you, it's not even describable. I wish you knew that. I wish you felt the same. _

_So… it's been a few weeks since I've last saw you and I still can't get you out of my head. Your infectious smile, that loud, but super adorable laugh of yours, the way you bite your lip, your hugs, they all continue to creep into my brain at the worst possible moments. I hope you're having a fun summer. I hope you were able to get over me. I obviously wasn't what you wanted or needed, but trust me you were so much more than that to me. You were everything. You still are. I wish you'd just at least believe that. _

_I know I suck at writing, but hey, this is the only way I can really tell you my true feelings without actually telling you. Things suck without you. They really do. I thought a summer away from you would make things better. That I'd be able to get over you if I just gave it time. But I realized that no matter the amount of time or distance, I'll never get over you. I met this girl… Katie. Katie Cassidy. She's kinda perfect. And I think I like her a lot. But it's not like you have anything to worry about. No matter how perfect she is, she'll never be able to compare to you. I may like her, but I'm in love with you and that would overpower those feelings any day. _

So yeah he was dating Katie. It wasn't even like he was trying to make Lea jealous. He actually had feelings for the girl. Who wouldn't? She's gorgeous. He knows Katie senses something and that hug with Lea just proved it. As soon as he arrived at the airport and saw Lea, a mix of emotions ran through his mind. Love. Heartbreak. Fear. Joy. Happiness. Sadness. Excitement. Nervousness. Most of all he was just glad to see her. As soon as he pulled her into that hug he knew it was a mistake. The smell of her hair, it smelled just like it did before he left. The vanilla and strawberry scent was too much for him to handle. He wasn't sure what to think when she returned the hug and smile. All he knew was that she seemed genuinely happy to see him. And he liked that. To be honest he had forgotten all about Katie standing there until she made her presence known. Once they were introduced and were walking away, Lea dropped the bomb on him.

"_I have a boyfriend." _Those words echoed in his head the whole way home. Boyfriend. Boyfriend? Those were the worst words he could have possibly heard. She really did move on from him this summer. He didn't think it was possible, but… she did.

Things were awkward on set. They weren't the way they used to be. Yeah, Cory and Lea would film their Finchel scenes, the chemistry still as hot as ever, but instead of their usual playful flirting or their trailer hang outs (and hookups), they avoided each other. Lea and Cory had barely seen each other all day. They stole glances at each other across the room, but neither of them knew what to say to each other. To make matters worse, Katie came to visit on set. She got along surprisingly good with everyone (much to Lea's dismay). Everyone seemed to love her.

"Your friends are all really nice and welcoming," Katie smiled as she sat on Cory's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yeah they're the best. I'm not surprised though," he grinned, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her up.

"Thanks for bringing me here. I know we won't get to see each other as often as we'd like but I will try to make this work. You're really something special." She ran her fingers through his hair gently as he pulled her closer to his chest.

"Thanks. You are too Katie." He smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"What's going on with you and that Lea girl? She seems nice. But you told me you guys were good friends and she seems pretty distant." She bit her lip, looking up at him.

"Oh yeah, we used to date, well hook up. Didn't really work out so well and here we are…"

"Should I have something to worry about? I'd rather you tell me now so I don't have to go through the heartbreak later on if I turn out to be right." Cory was about to answer when he got a text from Lea.

_Meet at my apartment later around 9? I think we need to talk. _He hid his phone from Katie as he discreetly texted her back.

_Yeah, see you then _was his response.

"No, you have nothing to worry about. We're over, I promise." He smiled as she cuddled against his chest, biting at the inside of his cheek as he glanced over at Lea, who was sitting across the room fighting back the strong urge to cry as she watched them interact.

_You have nothing to worry about was what he said. You have everything to worry about was what he thought. _


	7. Something Better Falls Together

So Cory showed up. 9 'o' clock on the dot; not a minute later. He felt so whipped, but this was Lea we're talking about. He'd do anything for that girl.

"Hello Cory, come on in," she smiled warmly as he walked inside.

"So… what's up?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets, pursing his lips.

"Well… I just figured as co stars, I feel like recent events need to be addressed in order for us to properly be able to move on. Things have been way too awkward between us and I simply just don't think it's good for our working relationship." Cory's eyes widened as he tried to piece together what she was trying to say. Sometimes she could sound so much like Rachel Berry that it scared him.

"Right, I totally agree," he nodded in agreement.

"So I think we need to discuss the things that have been happening." She sat down on her bed, motioning for him to sit next to her. He slowly walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to her.

"You're right. But how do we do that?" He turned to look at her. There was an awkward silence for a while before Lea broke it.

"Well I should probably start by apologizing. I'm /so/ sorry. Seriously, I… I don't know what came over me but I was so stupid. I should've just believed you and instead I ruined what we had and any chance I had with you," she hung her head sadly, looking down at her feet. He wanted to tell her so badly that she didn't ruin anything, that her chances with him were just as good as they were before. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he just nodded and murmured a "yeah." She sounded slightly disappointed. She was expecting him to say something, anything at all. And all he said was yeah. Lea bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say next, but nothing came to mind. That's all she had to say.

"I… I guess that's it," she said sadly, "you can go if you'd like." She stood up, getting ready to see him to the door but he pulled her back onto the bed.

"Is that what you want?" he said quietly. She just nodded and pulled her arm back, crossing both of her arms over her chest. He sighed deeply before standing up.

"This, this is /exactly/ why things happened the way they did. God, Lea, you're so freaking confusing! One second you're talking about how you've ruined your chances with me and the next you want me to leave. I can't keep doing this, don't you get it. I can't keep coming back to you when it's convenient and then have you throw me aside when it suits you. Don't you see how that would hurt me?" He paced back and forth running his hand through his hair.

"I… I'm sorry alright? I can't help it." She mumbled something that Cory didn't quite catch. "Why do you care anyway? You have a girlfriend! It doesn't matter anymore."

"Yeah and you have a boyfriend!" Lea cringed. "So why did you want me to come here Lea? Did you just want to hurt me some more? Break my heart just one more time?" Cory didn't have time to think before Lea literally threw herself at him. Her lips were attached to his and he didn't stop it. He couldn't fight it anymore. He knew this was wrong. He knew he should have just pushed her away and walked out. But he couldn't. His head and his heart were in two different places. He knew he should have been thinking about Katie, but his heart was being way too selfish right now. This felt good. It felt great. To have his arms around her, to know that she was his in that moment and nobody could take that away from him was the best feeling in the world. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as she started to pull him back with her until they fell onto the bed. Their hands worked feverishly to remove the articles of clothing that were restricting them from being as close as they possibly could be. They needed to feel close to each other now more than ever.

Once it was over, Cory laid there with his arm around her, thinking to himself. He knew this was a mistake. He was going to regret it; he already did. He knew he had to get out of there as fast as he could without waking Lea up. He slowly managed to slip his arm from around her. Just as he was sitting up, Lea woke up and sat up next to him.

"Where are you going?" She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Home, I shouldn't have come over here. This was a mistake," he said, quickly pulling on his clothes.

"Wait, you're /leaving/? After what just happened? Don't you want to stay?" She blinked repeatedly, trying to hold her tears back.

"Lea, I have a girlfriend, and you have a boyfriend, we just cheated on them. Don't you even feel the least bit guilty about what we just did?" He sighed.

"I… I actually don't have a boyfriend," she mumbled.

"What?" He turned to look at her.

"I lied to make you jealous. I don't have a boyfriend," she hesitantly brought her gaze up to his.

"Why would you do that? If I would've known that…" he trailed off, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" she wrapped the blanket around herself, following him into the living room.

"I'm out of here. If you can't even be honest with me, then this is /never/ going to work. I mean it Lea, this is the last time. I'm done with you. I can't do this anymore." He ran out quickly and slammed the door behind him, leaving Lea standing there with tears streaming down her face.

Cory seemed to stay true to his word too. He wouldn't even /look/ at her let alone speak to her. Everytime she tried to talk to him he'd make up some excuse and just walk away. She felt bad about what she did, she really did, but she thought the real reason he was mad was because he enjoyed what happened and he felt guilty for enjoying it because he had a girlfriend. Lea knew she had to get this straightened out. She couldn't deal with him being mad at her. She hated it. She didn't even knock on his trailer door this time because she knew he wouldn't answer if it was her. Instead she just barged right on in, her eyes widening at the sight she saw.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry," she said in embarrassment, running out and quickly closing the door behind her.

"Lea, what the hell was that?" Cory came running after her. "Have you tried this thing called knocking?" He said, buttoning up his shirt.

"Well hell, I didn't know I was going to walk in on you having sex with somebody just a day after you slept with me!"

"We weren't having sex and even if we were it's none of your damn business!"

"Right, because making out with someone and taking their clothes off isn't having sex," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"Just leave me alone Lea. I told you I was done with you; there was no point for you to even be coming over to my trailer anyway. So just get out of here and move on."

"You're such a fucking joke." 

"What's going on here?" Katie came walking up a few minutes later, looking disheveled.

"Why don't you tell her Cory?" Lea smirked and tilted her head to the side. "Or maybe I should tell her." Cory's eyes widened as he gave her a pleading look. "But you know what? I'm not going to do it because I'm not as much of a bitch as everyone thinks I am." Lea rolled her eyes before walking away.

"What was she talking about?" Katie approached Cory, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing, she just came by to rehearse our scene for today," he said, avoiding her gaze.

"You're lying to me, I know it. Just tell me the truth."

"You just have to trust me. I don't know what she was talking about." She knew there was still something he wasn't telling her, but she didn't push it.

"Fine, I trust you. But I swear if you choose her over me /one/ more time…" she trailed off.

"I'm not choosing her over you Katie. I'm here with you aren't I? Just let it go." He rolled his eyes.

"I can't let it go Cory. I won't."

"I said drop it," he groaned in frustration as he walked back to his trailer, slamming the door behind him.

Later on that evening Lea got ready to head over to Dianna's for their annual "first week back to work party." She knew Cory was going to be there and she was tempted not to go. But maybe if she could show him just what he was missing out on…

"Lea, you need to hurry up, we're gonna be late. I can't be late to my own party," Dianna said as she watched Lea change for the millionth time. "You look fine."

"Is this okay?" Lea asked, glancing down at the sparkling black mini dress she had on.

"It's perfect. Can we get going now?" Dianna arched a brow as Lea nodded. "Why are you so worried about what you wear anyway? Any other time you just throw something on and go." Lea didn't answer at first. "It's because of Cory isn't it? Are you trying to make him jealous?" Lea just bit her lip and shrugged. "Lea, I know how much you want him back, but all I ask is that you don't start any drama at this party. Please? I'm using this party as an opportunity to finally get together with Mark. I have a plan and as much as I want you and Cory to get together, I just really want us all to enjoy this night without any drama. Can you do that?" Lea nodded.

"I promise Dianna. I'll stay out of his way. I won't even talk to him." _That shouldn't be too hard right? It's not like he wants to talk to me anyway _Lea reassured herself.

As soon as they arrived at the party, Dianna and Lea parted ways. Dianna searched for Mark and Lea… well she searched for any way necessary to avoid drama. She sat down on one of the couches in the far corner of the room, looking down at her hands. Cory wasn't here yet, but she knew he would be soon. She might have spoken too soon because as soon that thought went through her mind, in walked Cory and Katie. _Katie? What is she doing here? She is /not/ a part of our cast. _How could he be so insensitive and bring her here, knowing how much pain it caused Lea to see them together? She couldn't believe it. He had really sunk too low this time. She slipped into the kitchen before anyone could see her and leaned against the table. She needed a second to breathe. This was too much for her. She never knew pain like this. Why did it hurt so badly? She needed a way to make the pain go away. Her eye caught a bottle sitting on the counter and she walked over to it. _Maybe this will help numb the pain, at least for a while. It's not like anyone would notice anyway. _So she poured herself a glass and downed it all. It burned going down her throat, but that was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling inside. She tossed the glass aside and instead opted to drink straight out of the bottle. Just an hour later, she was back out in the living room, dancing with anyone who offered. As she went to take a bathroom break, she noticed someone closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing in here?" She turned around, glaring at Cory.

"Are you drunk? Lea what the hell were you thinking?" He walked over to her, gripping her arms loosely.

"Get off of me!" She groaned, yanking herself away from him.

"Lea, why would you do this? Do you know how stupid this is?"

"Shut up. I can do whatever I want. It's not like I'm driving. I just wanted to have a little fun. Not that I have to explain to /you/." She rolled her eyes before running out of the bathroom. For the rest of the night, whenever she noticed Cory staring out of the corner of his eye, she would begin flirting with whatever random guy she was talking to. She knew it was making him jealous; exactly what she wanted. She took it a little too far though. When she was talking with Mark, she saw Cory and Katie exchange a tender kiss. That ignited a fire in her. Before Mark had a chance to react, Lea grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down for a deep, passionate kiss. Mark's eyes widened as his body froze. He had no idea what was happening.

"Lea?" Dianna furrowed her eyebrows. "Thanks a lot." She shook her head, running into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Dianna! Wait, I can explain." Lea went to follow her in when Katie stopped her.

"Lea, I think she just needs to be alone right now," she said calmly.

"Get your fucking hands off of me! Who are you to tell me what my best friend needs? She's not /your/ best friend, she's mine! You're always taking everything from me!" Lea shoved her and she stumbled back.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about but you're obviously not as great of a best friend as you think you are. You're kind of a slut." Katie smirked challengingly. "I've tried to be nice to you. I've tried getting along with you, but clearly that's not what you want. So let's lay this all out on the table. You're jealous of me. It's obvious. I don't really like you very much and you don't like me either. Which is fine by me," she shrugged.

"You did /not/ just call me a slut!" Lea ran forward, grabbing Katie's shoulders. "Yes, I'm so jealous of you. I mean wouldn't everyone be jealous of having a boyfriend who sleeps with a girl he's not so secretly in love with behind his girlfriend's back?" Lea smirked back.

"Cory what is she talking about? And don't you /dare/ lie to me this time." Katie crossed her arms turning around to face Cory.

"I…" He was at a loss for words.

"That's right, we slept together just yesterday actually," Lea leaned forward to whisper in Katie's ear, who shoved her away.

"Wow, you just can't keep your hands off anyone's boyfriend can you? First mine, now the guy your best friend is in love with. You really are a slut." That was when Lea had enough. She grabbed Katie, tossing her to the floor. Katie quickly got back up, grabbing Lea's hair. Before she had time to do anything else, Cory stepped in between them stopping the fight.

"Would you both just stop it?" He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"I wouldn't have had to fight with her if you didn't cheat on me with the skank." Lea was about to go after Katie again before Cory wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Don't," he whispered to her. "Calm down. I'm gonna take you home."

"Cory if you leave this room with her I swear to God we are over. I will never speak to you again," she crossed her arms over her chest waiting for his response.

"I'm sorry," was all he said before leading Lea out the door, leaving a furious Katie standing in the middle of the room.

"Don't throw up on me. Can you make it until we get you home?" Lea nodded as Cory slid her into the car before getting in on his side.

"Cory…" She turned in her seat to face him, biting her lip.

"Don't Lea; I don't want to hear it. Let me just take you home. I am not too thrilled with you right now."

"I know, but I owe you an apology. What I did was pretty stupid." She reached out to touch his arm, but he yanked it away, his eyes staying on the road. She turned her body towards the window, sniffling softly as she wiped at her eyes.

Cory had ignored her the whole ride home. She couldn't take this. She hated when he was mad at her. But he couldn't have been that mad if he was helping her out. Once she stopped vomiting, he helped her take a shower, brush her teeth thoroughly and get changed into her pajamas and led her over to the bed. He still hadn't said a single word to her.

"I know you're pissed, but please say something. I don't like the silence," she sighed, curling up under the blankets.

"You want me to say something? Fine I will. You ruined the only good relationship I've had in a while because of your stupid jealousy. That's not even the reason I'm pissed. Katie was great and I feel terrible for what I did to her but damn, Lea, I don't know what it is about you. It makes me mad that I can't stop thinking about you or missing you, wanting to be with you, loving you, and it sucks because you don't even /care/ enough about me to let me be happy. You want me, you don't, you need me, I'm a screw up. You can never make up your damn mind and it's frustrating! I shouldn't have to put up with this," he breathed a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"You… love me?" She bit her lip, sitting up in her bed.

"Yeah," he rambled without thinking, "it's not like it matters. You don't care. You don't even feel the same way. I don't know why you had to get so damn jealous."

"But I do! I know it doesn't always seem like it and I know I've screwed things up between us many times but I do love you," she swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut.

"And how am I supposed to believe that? How do I know this isn't just another one of your lead me on then break my heart moments, huh?" He shook his head, letting out another sigh.

"You want proof? Fine, I'll give you proof." She got off the bed, stumbling over to her closet.

"What are you doing? Get back in bed, you need to rest." She ignored his plea, grabbing a shoe box off the floor, shoving it into his hands.

"Here's your proof. They're letters I wrote you this summer and if that's not proof enough than I don't know what is," she explained, getting back into the bed.

Cory went out into the living room, sitting on the couch as he slowly opened the box, reading the first letter. Everything about it shocked him. She loved him, she admitted to making a mistake; she wanted him to be happy. Why couldn't she have told him everything she wrote in these letters in person? He must have read those letters over twenty times before placing them back into the box and walking back into her room, peeking his head through the door before stepping inside fully.

"Lea, I think we should talk." He walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. She turned around to face him, looking up at him. "I wrote letters too you know… every single day."

"What'd they say?" She asked, pursing her lips in thought.

"They talked about how much I loved you, how I've never felt this way about anyone before and how it scared me because you're the only person who is ever going to be able to break my heart, how you're pretty much perfect, how your smile is so infectious and your laugh is the most adorable thing in the world, how no matter how hard I tried to get over you I just couldn't, how no other girl, not even Katie compared to you," he continued to ramble on before Lea cut him off with a deep kiss. He didn't object, it didn't lead to anything more, it was just a kiss. And for the first time in a while, neither of them had to worry about hurting anybody or someone getting in the way. It just felt right. He lay down, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He knew she probably wouldn't even remember this in the morning, but for now he was enjoying whatever it was that they had together.


	8. In Love From The Beginning

**A/N: Unfortch, this is the last chapter. Sorry I made you wait so long for just a little bit, but keep your eye out. I'm working on another Monchele fiction as well as many others. I will be doing another Puckleberry fiction (they're my muse of course!) But I will finish the Brittana story, start on my new Monchele fiction & I have a few other ideas I'm thinking of doing. I love taking suggestions & prompts though. So if you have a favorite pairing or an idea for a story that you want me to write, one-shot or multi-chapter then just let me know and I'd do my best to fulfill it! Stay tuned!**

Cory hadn't gotten much sleep that night. He had stayed up all night thinking about those letters that Lea had written. He couldn't believe those words were written by the same girl who was lying in his arms right now. He looked down at her, failing to hide the smile that was quickly forming on his face. He was just so happy. But then he remembered Katie. He had made her feel so miserable. He knew apologizing to her would probably mean nothing but he had to do something. She had to at least know that he was truly sorry for what he had done to her even if she didn't believe it. He reached over for his phone, texting her to meet him at his place before slowly slipping out of the bed, making sure not to wake up Lea. It's not like he had anything to hide but he knew that if she found out where he was going she would freak. He totally loved that jealous streak of hers, well… sometimes. Katie had agreed to meet him so he quickly got dressed and headed over to his apartment.

"Hi," he said once she arrived "please come in."

"What do you want?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sure this isn't going to take long so I'll just stay out here."

"I wanted to apologize; actually apologize this time. What I did was really insensitive and I wasn't thinking about your feelings at all. I was very selfish and you deserve better." He looked up at her, unable to read her face.

"I knew…" she sighed softly, shaking her head "I knew how you felt about her. I guess I just… didn't want to admit it to myself because that meant things between us would be over and I was doing everything I could to avoid that."

"I am… /so/ sorry. I really am," he nods, taking her hands in his, "I just want you to know that I never lied about anything. I did love you. I did enjoy being with you, I guess I just… I was never going to be able to get over her. Let's face it. Everyone could tell where my feelings really lied. I'm just sorry I had to put you through all of that.

She simply nodded, slowly pulling her hands away from his. "Look Cory, I accept your apology. I do. But /she's/ the one that should apologize. She made my life hell all because she wasn't over you. You guys are way too crazy about each other. Just.. the way you look at her and the way she looks at you, it's so intense. I really hope I have something special like that. See you around?" She turned to face him one last time before walking away. Suddenly it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He knew that there was going to be absolutely nothing standing in the way of him and Lea being together this time. They were going to do it right. They were finally going to be happy without having to worry about anybody else getting hurt. When he got back to Lea's apartment, she was already awake, sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"Hey," she smiled up at him, "where were you?"

"Oh, I just… had some business I needed to take care of." She raised an eyebrow at him, standing up to look at him.

"I thought we were going to be honest with each other. This can't work if we're not honest, remember?" He sighed softly and nodded before grabbing onto her shoulders.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I went to go see Katie. Before you say anything, it's not what you think. I just went to apologize to her. She deserves at least that after all I've put her though. And I think you owe her an apology too Lea…" He looked down at her, biting his lip nervously.

"You're right," she nodded, "I wasn't the nicest person to her. I actually think we would have gotten along if it wasn't for us both being in love with you," she laughed softly under her breath. "I'll go apologize, right now." She leaned up to kiss his cheek before disappearing into her bedroom to change. She threw on a pair of sweats before pulling on her jacket and walking back over to Cory.

"You'll be here when I get back right?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"When I said I here to stay; I meant it. I'm here as long as you want me." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, reaching up on her tip toes to plant a kiss against his lips.

"So that means you'll stay forever?" She smiled brightly as he nodded.

"Forever." She laughed softly as she looked up at him.

"I feel like a teenager who's just experienced their first love," she smiled genuinely.

"I feel the same way." Cory laughed, nodding in agreement. He kissed the top of her head one final time before she made her way over to apologize to Katie.

As soon as Katie opened the door and saw who it was, she immediately closed it back up.

"Wait, Katie. At least hear me out? I came to apologize. I know I was horrible to you, but I was just so hurt. I thought he was choosing you over me and after everything we had been through, I just didn't want to lose him. I know what you're thinking and you're right, it's no excuse, but I just want you to know how awfully sorry I am, from the bottom of my heart." Just as Lea was about to walk away, she heard the door slowly open up. She turned around and saw Katie standing in the doorway with her hand on her hip.

"I understand why you did what you did. He's a lot to lose," she nodded as if she was in thought. "Just take care of him, okay? Be good to him and treat him right. Try not to break his heart again." She half-smiled before closing the door.

"I will, she whispered mostly to herself, smiling to herself before driving back to her house to be with the one person she loved more than anything; who she promised she'd never hurt again, in fear of losing him for good.

Later on set that day, Lea had finally ran into Dianna. They hadn't really had any scenes together lately so whenever Lea was on set Dianna wasn't. Plus, she had kinda been avoiding her after the whole "Lea kissing Mark" thing. Lea wanted to make things right between them again; she had missed her best friend. So when she saw her enter her trailer alone, she used it as her opportunity.

"Hey Di..." she said softly, "can we talk?" Dianna rolled her eyes at Lea's request; choosing not to answer her. "Look I know what I did was stupid and selfish and it hurt you, but I just want you to know that I'm /so/ sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just… I was so blinded by my feelings for Cory that I wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt me. I wanted him to feel what I felt. I know you might not understand that and I'm not expecting you to, but I'm sorry. I hope you do believe that." Lea stepped closer to her, smiling slightly. "Cory and I are finally together." Dianna finally turned around to face her, which Lea took as a good sign.

"Well good for you," she said simply before stepping out of her trailer again "I guess you really do always get everything you want, no matter who it hurts," she shook her head before heading back to set. Lea stood there, feeling pretty awful. She knew she had to find a way to make this right.

"Hey Dianna!" Cory called after her. "We're all having a dinner tonight to discuss the filming schedule for the new season. Here's the address of the restaurant. Be there by 7. Don't be late," he said; jogging off before she had a chance to reply.

"Mark," Lea smiled as she sat next to him in the choir room during one of their breaks. "So listen, the whole cast wanted to discuss some of the script changes and we figured we'd all go out to dinner together. Please say you're in?" Before he had a chance to say either yes or no, she handed him the address and bounded off down the hall. "See you there!"

So both Mark and Dianna showed up at 7 'o' clock, looking around for all of their other cast members. The only thing they saw was a singular round table in the middle of the room lit by a candle; the room dimly lit.

"Do we have the right address?" Dianna asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"Well, Lea said…" he started before getting cut off by Dianna.

"Lea?" she raised a brow. "This must be some plan of hers to redeem herself." She rolled her eyes inwardly before she felt Mark take hold of her wrists.

"Can we not talk about Lea for tonight? I don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about you." Dianna tried to hide the smile that was already plastered on her face.

"Well… what about me?" She asked casually.

"I want to talk about how amazing you are, how I've never felt this way about anyone before, how when you smile I can't help but smile myself, and how I'm totally and completely in love with you." Dianna's smile only spread even wider across her face.

"You're in love with me?" She bit her lip; waiting for the reply she already knew the answer to.

"Wasn't it obvious?" They both just laughed.

"Well I mean, I never used to doubt you had feelings for me until that kiss with Lea. It looked pretty… real and I mean it made sense. You guys are so close and…" Mark stopped her; putting a finger up to her lips to "shush" her.

"Did you honestly believe that there was anything going on between Lea and I? I mean, come on Di. You /know/ how crazy she is about Cory. There's no question about that. And I thought you know how strongly I felt about you." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

'Well I guess I had just let my jealousy get the best of me at the time. I'm sorry if I pushed you away. I should probably apologize to her huh?" Dianna laughed softly.

"Probably, but for right now all of this food and wine is going to waste. Should we put it to good use?" He smirked, wiggling an eyebrow suggestively. She nodded; taking his hand and dragging him back over to the table. Outside the window, Lea and Cory were looking in, smiling brightly at their work.

"We did it babe," Cory smiled over at Lea, slinging his arm around her shoulder. She nestled into his side, letting out a comfortable sigh.

"I can't believe we're all finally happy and that we've /finally/ got what we wanted. You have no idea how long I've wanted you," she admitted shyly, casting her gaze downward. Cory's face lit up as he tilted her chin back up to look at him.

"I do actually. I've wanted you from the moment I met you. The moment I saw you walk through those doors to read that scene with me… I couldn't catch my breath. You were just the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Then you sang, and I couldn't believe it. The voice that came out of that tiny body it amazed me. And you just had the biggest heart that I've ever seen in anybody before. I knew I was in love with you ever since." The smile on Lea's face was undeniable. She gripped onto the back of his neck to press her lips against his firmly.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips.

"And it only took you a week to fall in love with me. Looks like my plan worked," he smirked proudly against her lips; kissing her back.

"Baby, I was in love with you long before then." They both smiled again, sharing a deep kiss. Right now, they couldn't have been happier.


End file.
